Child-Proofing a Home Office

Back in the old days, a home office was a rare thing in a home. And it usually consisted of a desk, a telephone and a place to pile the mail. Things are a bit different today, and the home office is a common sight in most homes. And the major feature of the new home office is the computer. Whether you actually have your home computer in a separate area, like an office, or if it's just tucked away in the corner of the living room, you really should make sure any small fingers in your household can't get at it.

Your computer is a rather delicate piece of equipment and will not fair well if the power button is pounded on, or the cables in back yanked on. If you have children in your home, you really need to child-proof your computer area. Not only to protect your equipment, but to protect kids from shocks or pinches in the equipment.

The easiest way to protect your home computer is to keep it in a room with a closable door. Even then, curious little people can still follow you in when you are working, and can wreak havoc even with you sitting there. A few child-proofing items can go along way in protecting children around a computer (and protecting a computer around children).

Power Bar Cover

Power Bar Protector

Regular electrical outlets are bad enough, but a power bar is twice as attractive to a small child with all those cords and holes and maybe even a red light or two. With any computer area, you are more than likely going to have a number of power cords and at least one busy-looking power bar. This handy cover will protect all your cords from being pulled and will keep fingers out of any exposed sockets.Many computer supply stores sell these.

PC Tower Cover

PC Tower Protector

This product is more for the protection of your computer than your child. A cover for the front of your PC tower will keep busy fingers from pushing the pretty on/off button. Velcro strips are attached to the PC case and the front cover then attachs with Velcro. Comes on and off pretty easily, but will remove the temptation of the buttons and slots underneath. Not only will it keep your computer from being turned off, it will prevent fingers getting jammed in a disk drive.

Table Bumper Pads

Corner Bumpers

Most computer desks have a modern-looking style with rounded corners, but if your desk does have sharp corners you might want to cover them up. These table edge bumper pads will wrap around the edge of your desk and keep the sharp corners covered up.

And if you still find your home office is just not safe enough for your kids, you might want to get a basic baby gate to keep them out. With a gate in place, you can still use the office with the door open and not shut yourself off from the rest of the family.

Comments

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Astrid 4 years ago

I think the idea is super, but sockets are always warm. so if I then covering it accumulates the heat and cause a fire. So which is better. Child say it should not touch the wall outlet or hope that it does not fire occurs at night.

Marisa Wright 9 years agofrom Sydney

My friend's little boy was always sneaking in and playing on the laptop when Daddy wasn't around. It was a Mac, so you could record your own sounds for the startup sound. So my friend recorded his own.

The next time the little boy turned on the computer ready to play, he heard a voice,

&quot;Warning! Error! You have deleted the hard drive!&quot;

My friend came into the room to find a very scared-looking little boy...who never touched the laptop again!